A thistle to the Muscatine City Council for its response to State Auditor Mary Mosiman, who looked into a trip to China by city officials. Mosiman called on the city to be more transparent about the 2014 trip’s expenses — which cost the city more than $4,000 — and its public purpose. The auditor found the council had no formal discussion about the trip or opportunity for public input, and she recommended the council pre-approve such travel.

City Administrator Gregg Mandsager and Community Development Director Dave Gobin traveled to China in December 2014, saying the trip was related to economic development. Officials said they were leveraging the city's unique connection to President Xi Jinping, who visited Muscatine in 1985 and 2012. Mosiman’s audit found that the trip primarily involved “cultural and sightseeing experiences.”

“The finding does not state there was no public purpose for the trip or the related incidental expenses. Rather, the finding states there was insufficient documentation of the public purpose served. The City Council should ensure public purpose is sufficiently documented when that purpose is not explicitly clear,” the report said.

The report is a lesson to other public officials who might think our relationship to China is an open invitation to spend taxpayers’ money without proper public input and disclosure.

A rose to a Drake University summer camp that’s bringing teens of different faiths together. Starting today, about 15 Des Moines high school students representing Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism will attend a camp hosted by The Comparison Project at Drake, the Des Moines Area Religious Council and the Iowa Sikh Turbanators. The interfaith camp is an extension of the book “A Spectrum of Faith: Religions of the World in America’s Heartland,” which was published this year by Drake Community Press and featured the Des Moines area’s rich religious diversity. Besides learning about one another’s beliefs and touring places of worship, campers will share meaningful faith experiences through digital storytelling. The public is invited to watch the campers’ final projects at Drake’s Cowles Library Reading Room on Friday from 3 to 5 p.m.

“The goal of the interfaith summer camp is to prepare the next generation of interfaith leaders, including the high school campers and the Drake students acting as counselors,” said Tim Knepper, professor of philosophy and director of The Comparison Project.